Subscription-based sound design service Pyro Audio has released SURROUNDED, the first-ever sound pack to include 100-percent 3D spatial audio content

Monday, January 7, 2019 — Pyro Audio has released its first limited-edition sound pack of 2019, Volume 6: SURROUNDED, a collection of 100-percent spatial audio percussion samples specifically designed with layered beat-making in mind. Recorded using a Neumann KU 100, a specialized binaural recording microphone, which replicates head-related transfer functions, the samples included in Volume 6: SURROUNDED liberate producers from the limitations of left-right panning and let them layer sounds above, below, behind and around the listener – all without the need for any special software or plugins – placing the listener in the center of an uncanny three-dimensional sound field.

“With so much music being consumed on headphones, we decided it was time we gave creators a set of drums to put the listeners right in the middle of their productions,” said Eric Palonen, Founder of Pyro Audio. “Imagine tambourines surrounding your head, or a kick drum truly down on the floor. Volume 6 lets listeners locate these sounds in a three-dimensional sound field, as they happen in the studio. Sounds on the left or right lock the listener in, and sounds that occur behind or above are communicated to headphones with surprising realism.”

“We’ve taken this concept and applied it to a mix of percussion instruments for juxtaposing and layering drum sounds,” Palonen continued. “Anyone with any set of headphones can enjoy the 3D placement of these instruments. For those listening on loudspeakers, the effect translates to perfectly in-phase stereo placement.”

Available either for a zero-impact annual subscription price of $14.99 per year, or month-to-month for just $1.79, Pyro Audio sound packs harness the explosive creative power of the producer’s “first listen,” offering users completely original percussion sounds and growing their audio sample library with automatic delivery.

Sample packs are downloadable in .WAV file format and can be used on all popular samplers and Digital Audio Workstations, including MPC Software, Maschine, Ableton and FL Studio, among others. Once downloaded Pyro Audio sound packs can be used forever, royalty-free.

And since Pyro Audio permanently archives each volume at the end of every month, subscribers continually amass an arsenal of unique sounds that can be used alongside any of the stock sounds available with samplers or sampling software. This gives Pyro Audio subscribers the ability to craft a completely one-of-a-kind style, using boutique, limited-edition percussion samples – setting Pyro users apart from producers who can often get stuck using the same old standard audio samples.

Now giving users access to spatial audio samples this January, Pyro Audio’s sixth sound pack lets producers surround listeners with an immersive audio experience like they’ve never heard before. The sound pack includes 133 all-new sounds that demonstrate the untapped potential of spatial audio. SURROUNDED features core percussion instruments such as kick drums, snares and hi-hats, but it truly shines with auxiliary percussion instruments, such as shakers, hand drums, and sound effects, like vinyl textures and cymbals. Producers are especially encouraged to experiment with these sounds on existing tracks, since even one new instrument can positively change the dramatic intrigue of an entire song.

SURROUNDED is a limited-edition sound pack and will be archived at the end of January 2019, never to be sold or distributed again.